Discovery of Social Media in New York

http://ow.ly/73heZ

An article by Emily Stitelman published by law.com on the LTN webpage.

This article discusses the discovery of information from social media networks.  The article specifically discusses New York State law and says, "Though not the case in all states, (Footnote reference provided in the article, with a link) under New York State law, there is no right to privacy for information contained on social networking websites."

The article further advises, "Although there is no right to privacy with respect to content located on social networking sites, like Facebook and MySpace, attorneys must tread carefully when attempting to access information designated as "private" on these sites. Both the New York City Bar and the New York State Bar Association have opined that lawyers may not use false or deceptive information to "friend" a party or non-party (or cause someone else to friend a party or non-party) in order to obtain non-public information about that person."  A link is also provided to the footnote for this portion of the article.

As the author advises, "The best way to prevent content on social networking sites from being used in litigation is not to post it in the first place, or, if you must, think very carefully before posting."